STATEMENT BY THE RT HON PRIME MINISTER
MR AMBROSE MANDVULO DLAMINI
AT THE 2018 ESWATINI QUALITY AWARDS CEREMONY
AT ROYAL SWAZI SPA, EZULWINI
FRIDAY 09 NOVEMBER 2016
Your Royal Highnesses
Honourable Ministers
Your Excellencies members of the Diplomatic corps
Regional Administrator
Members of both Houses of Parliament
Senior Government officials
Captains of Industry
Media Representatives
Ladies and Gentlemen
It is a great honour for me to be part of this significant event, the 2018 Eswatini Quality Awards Ceremony and I am delighted to be with you all this evening.
This is the second year of Government hosting the Eswatini Quality Awards to signal the importance attached to excellence in the production of quality goods and services as a vehicle towards economic growth.
The Eswatini Quality Awards provide an essential platform for the recognition of organisations and individuals who have successfully implemented outstanding quality standards and quality management systems for their goods and services.
Let me from the onset congratulate Eswatini Railways, one of the winners of the 2017 Eswatini Quality Awards, for going all the way to raise the country’s flag in the region by winning the SADC Service of the Year award. Such a recognition of excellence is significant in boosting the image of industry in our Kingdom thus enhancing our efforts to present Eswatini as a preferred investment destination.
The provision and availability of quality goods and services serves as a catalyst for investment attraction and promotion. Investors are attracted to a society that has the capacity to provide efficient, high quality and affordable goods and services. Businesses also strive when they adopt processes and practises that produce high quality products for both their internal and external markets, mainly because they gain trust and customer loyalty.
The discernible correlation between high quality products and effective, profitable trade cannot be easily ignored.
The accolades brought by the Eswatini Quality awards, which we are witnessing this evening, are therefore an important compliment to organisations and companies that are quality compliant and have implemented quality standards and management systems that meet international standards.
His Majesty’s Government is aware of the need to minimise barriers to trade and to create a level playing field for the production of competitive goods and services. It is for this reason that Government has established a number of institutions to form a strong backbone of quality infrastructure and management and ensure that goods and services produced in the Kingdom are competitive and meet international requirements.
Such institutions include the Regulatory and Quality Infrastructure Department, the Eswatini Standards Authority (SWASA) and the Metrology section placed under the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade.
Consumers across the globe all have one common goal – to protect their safety, that of their animals and environment. They have to be constantly assured that goods and services brought to their country are of high value, of the required standard and harmless to their health and environment.
The country therefore is called upon to continue on the trajectory of developing and enhancing the quality of its products and services in line with international standards and requirements, and to encourage all businesses and organisations to implement and constantly improve quality standards and systems. There is need to expand and strengthen quality infrastructure activities to cover all small, micro and medium enterprises, including the manufacturing sector.
These internationally recommended practises under the Quality Infrastructure umbrella are geared towards enhancing effortless trade with minimal barriers and closing the gap between the quality of goods produced in developed and developing nations. We are part of a competitive world and our share in international trade can only be secured and widened by continuously updating trade standards and conforming to the ever-increasing number of new regulations. Where proposed regulations are discriminatory in their nature, we have a duty to question them and propose adjustments.
Ladies and gentlemen, may I take this opportunity to pass His Majesty’s Government gratitude to our international development partners for the supporting role they are playing in our quest for economic and social development. My appreciation goes to the European Union for providing funding for this noble initiative through the SADC Trade facilitation organ.
Allow me to also congratulate all the companies that have participated in all the levels of the 2018 Eswatini Quality awards. You are all winners. Thank you for being part of the collective that is pushing forward the national agenda of Vision 2022. Continue developing and maintaining quality systems that will support the production of competitive goods and services for the local, regional and international markets.
Thank you. May God bless us all.